The History of Apple Pie - Out of View

It's amazing what a band can do when you're not looking. I went into my first listen of the debut album by The History of Apple Pie having not listened to anything by them in a year and a half. I remember writing about 'Tug' when I heard the demo in 2011, and it was impressive enough already, but see, here's what happened when my back was turned: the band developed an absolutely colossal sound.

It's amazing what a band can do when you're not looking. I went into my first listen of the debut album by The History of Apple Pie having not listened to anything by them in a year and a half. I remember writing about 'Tug' when I heard the demo in 2011, and it was impressive enough already, but see, here's what happened when my back was turned: the band developed an absolutely colossal sound. The song may as well bear no relation to its demo version, because while that marked the band out as one to keep an eye on, the full-on shoegaze attack of the album version is likely to leave the listener breathless when first encountering it. It's not a song that's easy to get one's fill of, either, so you may find that 10 spins of 'Tug' later, you may finally want to move on to the other 9 songs on Out of View.

What's most impressive about the London quintet's debut album is not the way they have capitalised on their potential in the way only the best bands can (i.e. by not rushing the hell out of their record and cashing in on the hype), nor the fact that it'll be talked about in 'best British debut' discussions at the close of the year; it's the sense that its creators are melodically gifted. There is an art to music like this. THOAP don't settle for formulaic noise-pop, as so many would be wont to do at this stage in their career; instead, they provide a ridiculously catchy variant, covering everything in fuzz so that while the impressive voice of lead singer Stephanie Min is always discernible, her words are not. The focus is always on melody here, and forthcoming single 'See You' possesses an earworm of a vocal hook. 'Mallory' does the same with its opening riff. This is pop of the absolute highest order.

The bar is set high enough by the opening trio of tracks that one wonders if the band can keep that level of quality going for much longer. Thankfully, the album is dexterous enough to avoid all of the usual debut album pitfalls. Is it front-loaded? Nope: even on its own, 'You're So Cool' is enough to save the back half, but it bleeds into another of those songs that will be subjected to an alarming number of repeats, 'I Want More', on which the band's gift for crystalline melodies that cut through the noise rears its head once again. Even the songs which aren't necessarily as immediate, like 'Warrior', are sit-up-and-listen arresting in their own way.

There's even a song on which the band sound like a dead ringer for early-period Blood Red Shoes, but the spiky garage-pop of 'Do It Wrong' is no mere pastiche. There's not very much, if anything at all, that the band do wrong on an album that packs as much excitement, energy and drive into 43 minutes that it can manage without spontaneously combusting. Of course, it would be disappointing if an album of this calibre wasn't given the send-off that it deserves, and the majestic closer 'Before You Reach the End' closes Out of View in some style. The History of Apple Pie are right up there with my favourite new bands, and if this review piques your interest even slightly, you'd better be ready for them to become one of yours.